Thank You, Mr. Cosby, For Threatening To Sue Us

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March 21, 2013March 21, 2013 4

“Hey”, you’re asking yourself, “what happened to Cosby Sweaters?”

Let’s start at the beginning: About 2½ years ago, we launched a site for our friends: sports fans who love music, tech, pop culture and dumb Internet videos. Today, we have over a million page views a month and in 2012 Time Magazine chose us as one of their 50 Best Websites. We’re one of the internet’s favorite destinations for guys who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Guess who does take himself seriously? Dr. William Henry Cosby, Jr., Ed.D. – aka comedic legend, Bill Cosby. Last week, Mr. Cosby (or to be exact, Mr. Cosby’s legal team) slapped us across the chin with a Cease & Desist order and the threat of a lawsuit.- “Mama, we made it!”.

It reads in part:

Mr. Cosby has used his name for decades in connection with activities as an entertainer. His name is famous throughout the world and he has acquired tremendous goodwill and valuable intellectual property rights, including a United States trademark registration…

In addition, as you know, the multi-colored, multi-patterned sweaters that Mr. Cosby wore on “The Cosby Show,” an iconic television program that aired from 1984 through 1992 and has continued in broadcast as reruns and in syndication both domestically and internationally through the present, are strongly associated with Cosby. The term “Cosby Sweater” instantly evokes Mr. Cosby and The Cosby Show.

We think we could fight this case in court. Unfortunately though, we don’t have the millions of Puddin’ Pops™ to mount what could be a long and costly legal fight. The bottom line is this: It got hot and we have ditched the Cosby Sweaters name. We’ve got bigger and better match-ups to focus on.